Kensington launches five new iPod accessories...

Kensington announced today that it has expanded its line of iPod accessories with the availability of five new products designed for iPod enthusiasts. Three of the products being announced, the SX 2000 Speakers for iPod, the Micro FM Transmitter for iPod and the Digital FM Radio and FM Transmitter for iPod will support the recently announced iPod nano. "The iPod defines what consumers expect out of their digital music experience, and we are committed to launching a line of accessories that further enhances that experience," said Oren Blonstein, Global Product Manager, for Kensington.

Kiwali rolls out corduroy cases for the iPod mini

Kiwali, a new manufacturer of accessories for Apple's iPod, rolled out its first product -- a line of stylish corduroy cases for 4GB and 6GB iPod minis, dubbed the Kiwali mineon. Mineons are made from natural corduroy and are available in black, blue, green, pink, and tan. Accompanying carabineer clips are available in blue, green, orange, pink, and silver. Mineons feature a magnetic clasp and an access cut-away in the cover for headphones. Kiwali mineons are priced at $15 and are available via Kiwali's website.

Mossberg on Nano; Baig on ROKR phone...

In his latest column, Walter S. Mossberg shares his initial impressions of the iPod nano. "The nano has the best combination of beauty and functionality of any music player I've tested [...] And it sounds great."Mossberg concludes that "the iPod nano performed as advertised, or better. I found no significant flaws or downsides." Mossberg says he plans to buy a Nano. Meanwhile, Edward C. Baig has published a brief overview of Motorola's new ROKR cell phone, which features iTunes. Baig says the device works well, but he expresses some disappointment with the relatively low capacity of the phone. He also points out that users can't download music "over the air" directly to the phone, as people do when buying games or ring tones. Baig also criticized the USB-only connection, which he said was noticeably slower than FireWire.

iPod a "moving target" for competitors

Apple is continuing to make the iPod a moving target for competitors, according to Needham & Company. So far, no competitor has matched the iPod's "simplicity and elegance," writes Charles Wolf. "Yesterday, Apple raised the bar yet again with the introduction of the iPod nano [...] In our opinion, the nano should sell as well if not better than the mini, appealing to new users as well as owners of higher capacity Pods." Apple is also continuing its strategy of "locking in iPod owners with accessories." The company announced that there are now over 1,000 accessories for the iPod. Also, Apple announced that 15 automobile manufacturers now support the Pod. Around 30 percent of new automobiles sold in the U.S. in 2006 will feature built-in iPod support.

iPod nano priced right, but costing Apple

S&P Equity Research points out that the iPod nano pricing is "within our expectations," but ZDNet notes that margins may be much tighter than with the outgoing iPod mini. The 2GB iPod Nano, which sells for $200, contains around $90 worth of volume market flash, while the $250 4GB version has about $180 worth of memory, said Semico's Jim Handy. By contrast, similarly-sized mini hard drives costs about half for the same amount of storage. While Apple likely received a significant discount from its suppliers, the same was probably true for hard drive orders as well. Moreover, Samsung's margins for flash in the second quarter came to around 45 percent. Thus, Samsung would have to sell the memory at a loss or close to break even to give Apple a price that would be equal to a price for hard drive storage.

Sony launches new walkman players to challenge iPod

Sony today launched a new series of five walkman digital music players as well as new music jukebox software designed to challenge the dominance of the iPod and iTunes. Only a day after the launch of the iPod nano, Sony debuted three flash-memory-based models with capacities of 512MB, 1GB and 2GB, and two hard-disk drive-based models with capacities of 6GB and 20GB--all of which are expected to be available in Japan in October (however, international launch plans have not yet been set), according to Digit Magazine. Taking a cue from Apple's Shuffle and it's revamped iTunes 5 software, "Sony is emphasizing the user interface of the new players rather than just the technical specifications. Among the functions on the hard-disk drive-based models is an "artist link." Clicking the link button while a song is playing highlights stored music from similar musicians and genres. There are also several shuffle modes in all the players, including a "time shuffle," which will play all the stored songs from a selected year, and a mode that randomly plays songs from the top-100 most listened-to tracks."

TuneWEAR debuts ICEWEAR nano cases for iPod nano

TUNEWEAR today announced the new ICEWEAR nano series for Apple's iPod nano digital music players, joining the popular ICEWEAR for iPod mini, 4G, 3G and shuffle. The line of high-density transparent silicone cases uses the same high density silicone found in diving masks which allows for both scratch protection and a clear view of the iPod nano's original color. The "washable" ICEWEAR series design allows access to all ports including the headphone jack, dock connector, hold switch and click wheel. Shock absorbing ribs on the sides not only serve to protect the iPod nano during falls, and also increase grip for the iPod nano when held in your hand or placed on almost any surface. "The ribs also make the iPod nano appear to glow when held in the light which adds even more beauty to the design," according to the company. ICEWEAR nano will be available in October 2005 for $20.